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The Development and Improvement of Instructions PROTECTING THE IVORY TOWER: AN EXAMINATION OF HOW WHITENESS IS UNDERSTOOD AND ENACTED BY INSTITUTIONAL ADMINISTRATORS A Dissertation by DAVID FLINT MCINTOSH Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Yvonna S. Lincoln Co-Chair of Committee, Christine A. Stanley Committee Members, Wendy Leo Moore Fred A. Bonner Head of Department, Fredrick M. Nafuhko December 2015 Major Subject: Educational Administration Copyright 2015 David Flint McIntosh ABSTRACT American higher education has long been a space reserved for the privileged, based on any number of identity characteristics including race, gender, and socioeconomic status, to name just a few. Since education remains a compelling means of social mobility, the underrepresentation of groups has devastating consequences within the broader social context. In the past 50 years, many higher education leaders have incorporated calls for expanding diversity and greater equity in their institutions. Beyond this rhetoric, there is a still a demonstrable gap in participation and success for traditionally underrepresented populations across higher education. While there have been many studies that have undertaken to understand the depth of the problem, there has been little examination of the higher education leaders themselves, particularly as it relates to issues of race. If institutions are to truly become equitable spaces, it is critical that those making the decisions that affect race have an understanding of race issues. In order to address this pressing need in the literature, this study sought to understand the ways that whiteness is understood and practiced at a predominantly white, research university in the south. This qualitative study utilized naturalistic inquiry as a method to collect and analyze data from 16 administrators (nine white administrators, and seven administrators of color). Further, critical race theory was utilized as a theoretical lens in which to understand the data and illuminate the lived experiences, ideological perspectives, and philosophy on race, for both administrators of ii color and white administrators. The research site was a single research university in the South, called State Research University as a pseudonym. Notably, this study found that administrators of color experienced a hostile and marginalizing environment replete with examples of overtly racist interactions as well as microaggressions, creating a situation called white institutional space. The white institutional space described at State Research University (SRU) appears to function as a result of the actions of white administrators who demonstrated a dissonance in understanding the experiences of people of color, as well as unapologetic, willful ignorance regarding the ways that race operates in society. In conclusion, this study has found that many problematic and marginalizing tactics are utilized by white administrators (implicitly and explicitly) to create hostile environments that people of color must navigate in order to live and work in institutional white spaces. The implications and findings from this study should be used for training institutional administrators and other decision makers (such as mid-level managers), as well as white allies who join people of color in pursuit of equitable spaces. iii DEDICATION For Liam and Kellen: May you always stand up for truth and justice. I also dedicate this study in memoriam to my sister Bridget Sommer Doyle. I think about you every day and while I can’t remember all of the things we talked about, I can always recall the sound of your voice and infectious laughter. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been a tremendous privilege to engage in this type of critical work that seeks to expose injustice and illuminate the voices of the marginalized. I am in the debt of all of those who participated in this study and shared their candid observations and experiences with me, as well as all of those who served as informants at State Research University, all of whom made sacrifices that enabled this study. I must also acknowledge my distinguished committee who served as mentors in this research process. I am deeply appreciative of the contribution each of them made to my intellectual growth. Dr. Yvonna Lincoln, as a luminary in the field of qualitative inquiry, I came to study with you and learn your method firsthand. It was an honor to be one of your students. Your balance of rigor and support is something I deeply appreciate and will never forget. Dr. Christine Stanley, as a thought and opinion leader in the field, it has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as an employee in your department, as well as your student. Truly, in each conversation we have, class is in session as I have learned about educational leadership firsthand. Dr. Wendy Leo Moore, I cannot say enough about all of the support and guidance you have provided. As the one who wrote the book on white space, I continue to stand in awe of your critical work and leadership in this field as well as in your daily life. Further, words cannot express how deeply appreciative I am of your willingness to work with me and to be part of my family. Dr. Fred Bonner, I am deeply thankful of your thoughtful contribution and support through v this process. As a prolific scholar, I look forward to our continued collaboration as our work continues to intersect in the future. This work could not have happened without the love and support from all of my family and friends. In particular, my fifth and unofficial committee member, Dr. Becky Petitt, you have been a supervisor, a colleague, a mentor, a friend, and the big sister I never had. I have been exceptionally blessed to have you as part of my life. You have been challenging and supporting my learning for so long that I am not the person that I am today without you. Further, my most deeply held friendships include those who have known me for the longest and with whom I shared many experiences and laughs. Truly I would give anything for these friends who are more like family, including Paul Barribeau, Brett Burger, Derek Fay, and Glenn Bracey. My career in higher education has afforded me the opportunity to develop many relationships at many institutions. This academic family is indeed wide and includes too many to name individually. Suffice to say that I deeply treasure my many friends and colleagues at Ripon College, Fisk University, Texas A&M University, the University of Missouri, and Michigan State University. However, I must acknowledge the following with a special thanks: Leilani Kupo, Christy Schwengel, Tom McGagh, Pete Mahler, Cindy Hutter, Chris Clarke, Kwofi Reed, Robert Harris, Leigh Jones, Sue Foster, Mike Krenz, Rick Turnbough, Kate Parks, Carolyn Sandoval, Dallas Ramsey, Charles Schroeder, Frankie Minor, Vicki Rosser, John Purdie, Troy Lillebo, Jane Olsen, Eduardo Olivo, Jason Kitchen, Katie Stolz, Ricardo McCrary, Shweta Kurvey, Amanda Higgs, Todd Dragoo, TJ Jourian, Daniel Guild, Morgan Paschal, Kanchan Pandey, Dianne vi Kraft, Phia Salter, Jenni Mueller, Karan Chavis, Wanda Watson, Filo Maldonado, Lisako McKyer, Verna Keith, Rebecca Hankins, Robin Fuchs-Young, Barbara Gastel, Jennifer Reyes, Alija Baber, Cerci Hammons, and Laura Wimberley. I am also deeply appreciative of my family members who have shown love and support throughout this process. While our family context is often complicated, our relationship is something I deeply treasure. As your son, brother, and uncle, I love each of you dearly. In particular, my mother and step-father, Barbara McIntosh and John Weir, as well as my brother and sister in law, and their family, Jed, Jen, Ryan, and Ethan Doyle. Further, I am so deeply fortunate to have been accepted into large and loving families, including the Tuttles, Johnsons, Corwins, Brueners, Malotts, Woods, Pauls, and Timmons. Finally, I am forever in the debt of my best friend and the love of my life Jenny. Your love and support is boundless and means the world to me. We have only known each other for two years when I haven’t been a student of some sort, demonstrating a patience that is unparalleled. I look forward to all that our future holds. Also, I love all that Kellen and Liam add to our lives - it’s rarely easy raising these little boys, but it has always been rewarding. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................ii DEDICATION..................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................xii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 Problem Statement ......................................................................................................... 4 Research Purpose and Questions.................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................................... 10 Whiteness and the Construction
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